ANDRONIKOS

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I muttered to myself as I banged my head repeatedly against the shower door.

I wasn’t meant to go to her, but somehow, even after trying desperately to avoid her, I found my way to her door. Like a moth to a flame, I couldn’t ignore her presence anymore, and I stupidly sat on her bed, using the faint moonlight streaming through her windows to study her face.

I missed her. And though I know it was a stupid move telling her that, I just couldn’t not tell her. And the way she sprang up to help, even when she didn’t have to, just made me more enamored with her—a battle I was constantly losing as the days went on.

I meticulously cleaned myself in the shower, trying to avoid wetting the newly wrapped gauze Adira had put on me. Looking at the wounds that were definitely going to add to the stash of scars on my body, my mind couldn’t help but wonder to what had led me to this moment.

“Nónos, this is a very stupid idea, and you damn well know it.”

I ignored Iason’s ranting beside me. I was determined to whoever was responsible for threatening my little flame, and that’s why I was here—at one of Luciano’s sex trafficking auctions. Without back up.

Yes, I knew it was stupid, but I wanted a one-on-one talk with the bastard.

“We’re going inside, Iason,” I said, flicking away the cigarette I had lit earlier. I didn’t usually smoke, but in moments like this, the nicotine-filled trash was a needed fix for my stressed mind.

“Nónos, we’re not armed,” he reminded me, his voice tight with apprehension.

“I’m aware of that Iason,” I replied, flashing a sarcastic smile. “Now, move.”

“I just knew she was bad news from the beginning,” he muttered under his breath.

Ignoring him, I continued walking toward the auction ring.

The scene was as sickening as all the others I’d seen and had the privilege of burning down. Naked women and girls locked in cages, slimy men leering at them, hands gripping their cocks as they imagined taking them home.

Gamo, I thought grimly. I really wish I could kill them all right now.

We slipped behind the stage to where Luciano usually conducted his business. The lack of guards should have been a red flag, but it wasn’t enough to stop me.

Adira, it seemed, had bewitched me more than I cared to admit because I foolishly took an extra step toward Luciano’s door.

Big fucking mistake.

Gunshots erupted before I could draw my weapon. Iason and I sprinted back toward the main stage where the auction was taking place.

If we thought the gunmen wouldn’t follow us, we were wrong.

Bullets flew in every direction, turning the auction house into a slaughter house

Through the chaos, I saw Iason locked in hand-to-hand combat with one of Luciano’s men.

A bullet narrowly missed me as I turned my attention to the girl charging at me with a knife. She couldn’t have been older than fourteen.

I dodged her attacks, recognizing Luciano’s handiwork. The bastard always uses children as his pawns. The girl moved with surprising skill, her strikes precise and relentless. I didn’t want to hurt her, but my hesitation cost me. Her knife slashed across my arm, and blood seeped into my shirt.

“Stop it, girl. I don’t want to hurt you,” I said, my voice firm yet tinged with desperation as I held my bleeding arm.

For a brief moment, her eyes flickered with hesitation, as if some part of her still existed beneath the brainwashing. But then, with a vigorous shake of her head, the flicker was gone. She lunged at me again, but before I could react, a bullet struck her in the head.

Blood sprayed across my face as she crumpled to the floor, her final expression one of shock.

I turned toward the direction the shot, rage bubbling within me. Luciano stood there, smiling like the devil himself. The bastard. He’d killed her for that brief hesitation, for daring to show a sliver of humanity.

“Andronikos, we have to go. Now.”

Iason’s voice snapped me out of my fury. I cut off my staring contest with the slimy old fool to regard him. He looked worse for wear, bruises and blood painting a grim picture of the fight he’d endured.

Nodding, I turned away from Luciano and followed Iason toward the exit. As we navigated the wreckage, one thought gnawed at the edges of my mind: someone had tipped Luciano off. Someone had betrayed me.

Iason?

No. I quickly pushed that last thought out of my head, determined not to let a seed of doubt be planted between me and my second-in-command. Trust was the foundation of everything, and if there was no trust between the two major pieces in the game, then the whole kingdom falls. That can’t happen. It had to be someone else. And I had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and headed to my bedroom. My wounds throbbed under the gauze, but the pain and the reminder of Adira’s hands there some moments ago only sharpened my focus. I reached for my phone and dialed Iason.

“Yes Nónos,” he answered on the first ring, his voice steady despite the ordeal we’d just been through.

“Set up a meeting with Georgios by daybreak. We have important things to discuss.”

“Anything the matter, Andronikos?” he asked, obviously picking up on the deadly edge in my voice.

“Nothing at all, Iason. Just recover and be by my side come morning.”

“Whatever you say, adelphós,” he said before ending the call.

(Brother)

The only other person apart from Iason and me who knew about our plans—and who had access to my apartment—was Georgios and with every fiber of my being, I was certain he was the culprit.

He’d better disappeared before I saw him again. Because if he didn’t, he would regret ever thinking of betraying my trust.